Hang fire in a side lock percussion cap muzzleloader

Utedder

Utedder

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I have a beautiful Hawken, on which I got a great deal at a gun show years ago because it had a bullet and bullet puller stuck in it. I had those removed. However, it hangfires when clean. It can take several caps to get it to fire, and then it fires fine until I clean it again. I thought of reaming out the channel, but am concerned about weakening the steel. Any ideas on how to correct the problem? THANKS!
NIPPLE REMOVED IN PHOTOS BUT NOT WHEN SHOOTING.
 

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Aren't you missing a "nipple" on your lock?

Looks to me like you need to have a nipple screwed into that flash hole to 1) better seat the primer and 2)direct the ignition flame into the chamber.
 
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One question? How the hell did he get the cap to fire? I have seen nipples drilled put to help with ignition. The only thing I can think is the were using shot gun primers.

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Reactions: Tim
Need to know what powder you are using and what is your loading procedure. The black powder subs are notorious for hang firing among other issues. Next what caps from who.

Lastly, the length of the threaded part of the nipple may be too long putting the flash hole past the best point for ignition. Drilling it out is a shortcut to bigger problems not the least of which is poor accuracy and is NOT recommended.
 
Tim said:
Aren't you missing a "nipple" on your lock?

Looks to me like you need to have a nipple screwed into that flash hole to 1) better seat the primer and 2)direct the ignition flame into the chamber.
Click to expand...
I took off the nipple. Yes, it hang fires with the nipple. I wish it was a simple matter of that!
 
Clean the rifle. Put a cap on the nipple and point the empty rifle at a leaf or a piece of paper on the ground. If you don't see the leaf or paper move went you fire it then the hole from the nipple to the bore is not open enuff. Clean it again
 
You have a cleanout screw right below the nipple if cleaning doesn't help. Try what Schatt said first, be careful with that screw if you have to mess it.
 
I had the same issues with a side lock. Since I switched to a musket cap nipple and the larger musket caps, I have had no issues. That might be an option.
 
In my sidehammer days i would always give the breech end of the barrel opposite the drum a few solid taps with the heel of my hand to encourage some of the (real black powder) to settle towards the drum. Now if i REALLY wanted to ensure instantaneous ignition, such as when hunting for Bullwinkle in bear country, i would remove the nipple from the drum and dribble some 3F, just A VERY FEW GRAINS of (real black) powder into the drum itself, then cap and fire per usual. But that was just my highly unrecommended personal practice. It IS possible to blow a drum completely off a barrel, especially if one dribbles too much (real black) powder into an old thin cheap, rusty, or otherwise insufficiently strong drum. Not that i ever did that or would recommend anyone else did.
 
Haleh said:
ALWAYS fire a couple of caps before loading it the first time after cleaning. As Shattenreiter said, point at leaf or blade of grass on the ground to make sure it moves.
Click to expand...
Not an apples to apples comparison, but this is what I do when I clean my hunting muzzleloader. I fire 4 caps through the clean gun immediately after cleaning. Then normal use until I clean it again.
 
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